An association representing 585 heating oil and gasoline dealers filed suit Friday against two state agencies, arguing that a legally required environmental study was not conducted before forging ahead with a $7 billion natural-gas pipeline expansion.
Yankee Gas, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Southern Connecticut Gas already have begun installing new capacity as a part of the state’s plan to add convert upwards of 300,000 homes to natural gas. The plan, approved in November 2013, includes expanded capacity and 900 miles of new mains.
But the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association claims in its Superior Court suit that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection fast-tracked the plan, failing to conduct an environmental impact assessment required by the state’s Environmental Policy Act.
The suit says the distribution system serving the state leaked 200,000 metric tons of gas in 2011 and 2012, which contributes greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
“They are going to build them in your streets. They are going to build them across your front yards and no one has considered what impact that will have on the environment and your home,” CEMA President Chris Herb said in a statement. “We are calling to halt this plan immediately until we know exactly what harm it might do.”
In a statement Friday, DEEP called the lawsuit “groundless and based on inaccurate information,” and saying that scientific evidence is clear on natural gas burning cleaner than oil.
“The lawsuit is simply another in a series of steps by the heating oil dealers aimed at protecting their lock on the market and preventing [Connecticut] homeowners and businesses from having a choice to select a cheaper and cleaner fuel,” the statement said.
Oil dealers face the prospect of lost revenue as more homes switch to gas, and have asked the state to allow them to enter the competitive gas market for residential customers.
DEEP also said it is working to fix methane leaks in pipelines.
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